


High Score

by demonsushi01



Series: Klance Trope Month 2k20 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - 80s, M/M, POV Lance (Voltron), i had to google so much because i would forget when things happened, like if you blink you'll miss it - Freeform, very slight watered down homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23974492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonsushi01/pseuds/demonsushi01
Summary: Day 02. Rivals to LoversLance finds a new machine at his arcade and gets the top score, only for it to be beaten out by a "KAK". He's determined to top that loser's score. Meanwhile, behind the counter, there's a cute boy Lance sees and they hit it off right away as well. He just wishes he knew the guy's name.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Klance Trope Month 2k20 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727086
Comments: 19
Kudos: 168





	High Score

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously there's no better way to deal with rivals to lovers situation than through video-games.

It’s finally summer, a long-awaited season after the grueling spring semester at the local college. Lance is just as thankful as his friends are for the excuse to be more lazy, relaxed, and using this time to get their head in the game for the fall semester later. He saves up some of his money from working part-time at his family’s store and every other day he and his two best friends hit up the arcade. 

There are a few cabinets they frequent. Pidge is a fan of Pac-Man and Hunk genuinely likes Centipede, but Lance is still yet to find _his_ game. Sure he’s racked up a few high-scores on various other machines but he hasn’t found one that completely sucks the soul out of him like Pidge and Hunk have. 

He’s in the middle of getting change when he hears about the new game here. Galaga it’s called. A spaceship shooting alien bugs in space. And yeah, Lance will admit it, he’s a total space nerd. Immediately he shoots off for the game and finds the machine wedged between Donkey Kong and Defender. There’s a small huddle around it and using his height to his advantage, Lance watches over their shoulders at the game. _Oh yeah, this baby is all his_. 

No one has dibs on it next much to his surprise, so he quickly slaps down his quarter on the edge of the screen during the stage load-out. One of the people nods in approval. The guy playing gets nowhere near the high-score when he finally loses all his lives and with a click of his tongue and a hiss he relinquishes his control of the machine over to Lance. 

Lance simply rolls his shoulders and slips his quarter in. The game starts up with a cheery tune and his little white ship. Watching the previous player helps his game immensely rather than flying in blind. At some point Hunk and Pidge come over and watch him, but he’s busy trying to keep his little ship alive. 

“Woah, what that hell!” Lance gasps as the green -- well _purple_ bug now that he shot it -- catches his ship in a tractor beam and sucks it up. _How rude!_

“Fighter captured?” Hunk reads from the screen.

“Dude it just ate you.” Pidge laughs. Lance pouts and waits for his second life to load. He aggressively takes out the purple bug that got him in the first place. 

“Oh wow.” Hunk whispers as it returns his lost ship to him, hooking up with the active one. Lance fires an experimental shot and grins widely when both ships fire. 

“Hell yeah.” He chuckles and goes to town. He too doesn’t get that close to the high-score but since no one is queued up, he just slips his quarter in for a second round.

He does better this time around, making it to the fifth stage this time. Round three has him getting passed the first three challenging stages but dying on the twelfth stage. However, he succeeds in getting the high-score so it’s ultimately worth it. He’s quick to input his initials, ‘LMC’ into the machine, and pats it gently.

“Time?” He turns to Pidge who rolls back their sleeves. They consult their three watches and then nod.

“Six-thirty.” 

“Ugh, okay. Figured it was getting late.” He groans.

“Time to head out then?” Hunk asks.

“Yeah, I have a shift in the morning.” Lance tucks his hands in his pockets and follows the wonder duo out to the parking lot. From there they all clamber into Hunk’s baby yellow Volkswagen bus and he takes them all home.

* * *

“Wow, someone already topped your score dude.” Pidge points out on the Galaga machine. A ‘KAK’ at number one by a few thousand points. No matter, it’s easy enough for Lance to be able to reclaim. After a whole dollar and fifty cents, dying on stage seventeen, he successfully creamed whoever KAK was and placed himself back on the top.

* * *

KAK beat him again. Punk was probably cheating or something. Lance huffs angrily and shakes his head. He stomps over to the counter to get change. The worker behind the register today is a new face, or well, new to the Friday night shift. 

“How can I help you?” His voice is flat and the guy looks bored out of his mind. 

“Change for a five please?” Lance hands it to him and really takes the new guy in. 

Long hair, though who doesn’t have long hair these days? But whereas generally everyone has their hair down, if not poofed up to an insane degree, this guy has his pulled back into some bun. It’s strange sure, but it seems to suit him rather fine. Dark eyes, hard to tell what color in this lighting, pale skin maybe even giving Pidge a run for their money, and a thin scar cutting from his jaw and arcing up to his cheekbone.

 _Handsome_. 

“Here you go.” Mysterious handsome cashier says, snapping Lance out of it. He takes his change and glances at the man’s name tag. _Steven_.

“Thanks, Steven.” Lance smiles. He looks confused but nods regardless. Lance takes his change and goes to top KAK’s score. It takes a dollar this time, still dying on level seventeen, but his strategy is getting better.

* * *

Lance’s mom would probably kill him if she knew he dipped on services today to hang out with his friends at the arcade. Perhaps it’s God’s punishment that KAK has beaten him again and that he can’t seem to top his score.

* * *

Tuesday, he puts KAK back in second place seventy-five cents in and dying on stage twenty. He feels confident that LMC will stay at one for a bit and gives the machine a loving pat. He finds Pidge who groans and needs to go get more change to try and top someone else’s score themselves.

Lance walks with Pidge to the counter where Steven is working. Wait - no - his name tag now reads _Giles_. Strange. He could have sworn it was Steven.

“How can I help you?” Same flat tone, same bored look.

“Change.” Pidge grunts slapping a five on the counter. _Giles_ sighs and takes it, counting out the coins and passing them back to Pidge.

“Here you go.” 

“Thanks, uh, Giles?” Lance gives him an awkward wave as Pidge walks away.

“Giles?” He thinks he hears the cashier mumble.

* * *

“Man KAK is out there for your blood.” Hunk points out when Lance steps over to Galaga to check his rank. It’s true, everything under LMC is nothing but KAK. The closest score being one point away. 

Naturally, Lance puts in a few more rounds to secure his lead. 

“Take that KAK.” He laughs when he beats his own score.

“Be careful man, karma’s gonna get you,” Hunk warns.

“Someone needs to knock his ego down.” Pidge grunts. “Come on, you promised me two rounds on Frogger.” They tug on Lance’s arm and he goes willingly.

* * *

Now Lance _knows_ that mister cashier’s name tag did _not_ say Neil before. He’s starting to wonder who this guy is. His score has stayed in the number one spot for five days now, a new record. A part of him is almost disheartened that KAK hasn’t beaten him yet, another part is thrilled that he beat the guy. 

With the thrill still running in his veins, he approaches the counter, leaning over it to give the mysterious man a smirk and a finger gun. Niel, as he’s apparently going by today, raises an eyebrow in response.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah actually,” Lance says. Neil waits and Lance waits. And then Lance realizes that Neil is waiting for his request like some sort of android.

“Oh, sorr--”

“What ca--” The two of them both interrupt each other. Lance laughs it off while Neil clears his throat and looks away.

“Um. I was wondering if you’re seeing anyone.”

“I’m seeing you,” Neil responds. It takes Lance a moment before he’s smirking.

“Not yet, you’re ahead of me on that one.”

“I… What?”

“I was going to just ask for your digits dude.” 

“My... “ Neil starts glancing around. “Are you pranking me?” 

“No man, I mean it. I’ll give you mine.” Lance says. Neil considers this for a few moments, chewing his lip as he thinks it over.

“Fine,” He grabs a pen and takes Lance's hand. “I live with my brother so you’ll have to ask for me.” He says and Lance’s hand tingles where his skin touches Neil’s. He tries not to twitch too much as Neil writes every number down carefully, mumbling the number under his breath as he writes. 

“Sick. Let me give you mine.” Lance does the same and caps the pen when he finishes his name. “I have a huge family too, so my name will get you to me.” 

“Lance.” Neil hums as he looks it over. 

“Don’t forget it.” Lance winks as he taps the counter and walks away.

* * *

He forgets to ask Neil for his name. Calling and asking for Niel, Giles, or Steven resulted in an immediate hanging up. Neil doesn’t call him either which bums Lance out. He ended up having to work nearly a full shift to cover for someone who didn’t show on his off day which sucked as well. In fact, by the time he finally gets off work and joins his friends at the arcade, he isn’t even in the mood for it anymore. 

KAK has finally beaten his high score, and his cashier isn’t here today. He blows his whole five dollars he allows for the arcade and gets nowhere near KAK’s new score. Hunk simply whispers the word karma over and over again to Lance.

* * *

“Lance, phone for you.” Veronica taps on his door. 

“Who is it?” He asks as he rolls out of his bed, setting his Spiderman comic to the side. He follows her down into the kitchen where the phone is laying on the countertop.

“Some guy.” She says unhelpfully. Lance rolls his eyes and picks up the phone.

“Hello? This is Lance.”

“Oh thank _god_ , I was wondering when they’d finally pass me to you.” The voice says.

“...You’re the cashier at the arcade!” Lance smiles. 

“Yeah, I am.” 

“God, I’ve been trying to call you but I kept getting hung up on.” 

“My brother was telling me about it. He thought you were a crank caller.” 

“Okay, seriously, I need your name now.”

“Oh really?” The guy sounds amused. 

“Yeah come on, tell me.” Lance leans against the counter.

“I’ll see what name tag they give me tomorrow.” He says instead. Lance pouts.

“Come onnn.”

“Okay, fine.” The guy laughs. That’s when Lance hears it, the soft click and feedback on the line.

“Oh my god, hold on,” He tells the guy and then presses the phone to his chest as he leans around the wall to shout upstairs. “Veronica! Get off the phone!”

* * *

He beats KAK once again but gets no closer in learning the mystery cashier’s _actual_ name. He’s starting to think maybe the guy doesn’t even have one. 

“They’re apparently having issues making my tag.” The guy shrugs.

“So you just take one at random out?”

“They hand me one and write down who I was that day. That way if they get complaints they’ll know it was for me and not the actual people.” He says and Lance hums, leaning back against the counter. 

“Do you like working here?”

“It’s alright. I get access to the machines after closing time but don’t tell anyone.” He presses a finger to his lips with a wink.

“What’s your favorite to play then?” Lance looks over at him.

“Galaga.” He says quickly.

“Dude me too.”

“I got hooked on it when I found it. Used to play Galaxian back in my hometown, but they surprisingly don’t have it here. I was kinda bummed by it, but Galaga fills that void.” 

“Galaxian?” He hasn’t heard of it before.

“Yeah, I think it came out, what nearly two years ago now?” The guy shrugs. “It’s a bit harder in some aspects, but Galaga has more going for it really.”

“Huh, weird.” It’s not like Lance to not hear of a game. Maybe if he bugs Pidge he’d get more information about it.

“So are you going to stay at my counter all night?” He asks, raising his brow.

“Actually, I did have something else in mind.” Lance leans over the counter.

“Yes?”

“When’s your next day off?” He asks. The guy blinks and then smiles.

* * *

Lance dips into his savings just a bit and takes the guy to dinner. The waitress gives them an odd look but says nothing. He takes him by the hand after paying and leads him to a theater.

“Come on, pick one.” Lance nudges his date. 

“Okay, okay, um.” He looks at the movies listed for today and chews his lip. 

“I will literally watch anything.” Lance tries to assure him.

“...Tron. Let’s see Tron.”

“Tron?” Lance looks over at him.

“My brother said it was good.” He shrugs. “The guy is a sci-fi nerd and I trust his judgment.”

“Tron it is then.” Lance smiles and gets them two tickets. He fights his date on who gets to pay for a drink and popcorn and then they both settle down in the back row and watch their movie. About halfway through, somewhere between Bit screaming ‘No’ and Flynn wrecking their ship his date holds his hand and Lance’s heart is never quite the same.

* * *

“Will you _please_ tell me your name?” Lance asks, trying to keep his voice hushed with his family asleep in the other rooms.

“I think your guesses are fun.” His boyfriend, yes _boyfriend_ says. They made it official a week ago.

“Yeah, or you could be Ted Bundy for all I know.”

“Ted Bundy is on death row, Lance. I can guarantee it’s not me.”

“He escaped a few times!”

“I’m not Ted Bundy, Lance.”

“Oh my god.”

“What do I have to do to prove it?”

“Tell me your name.”

“...Keith.” He says.

“How do I know that’s your _real_ name?”

“I guess you’ll have to believe me on that one.” Keith laughs.

* * *

Lance does believe him, but it’s better when Keith digs out his wallet and shows him his driver’s license. Keith does keep the rest of his name covered up but Lance is busy staring at the photo. In the last four years of having his license issued, Keith apparently decided to grow his hair out from the cropped almost military cut in his picture. 

“You looked so different!” 

“Yeah, being seventeen is like that.” Keith shrugs.

“Wait, you got yours at seventeen?” 

“Yeah. You?”

“Ugh, I had to wait until I was nineteen.” Lance laments. 

“Trust me, the extra years do nothing really.” Keith shrugs. 

* * *

He forgets to check on his high-score at the arcade. Mostly due to when he would get off work he’d be trying to get a hold of Keith and hanging out with him. There’s an intervention staged between Hunk and Pidge, who remind him he can’t put his whole life onto _one_ boy. Not when he has plenty of other people in his life. 

Lance finds his balance again. Time with family, time with work, time with friends, time with Keith. Right now, he’s with his friends. He does chat up Keith behind the counter who is finally wearing the appropriate name tag, though Keith does threaten to get a label maker and cover up his name.

Pidge has to drag him away and force him into a few rounds before he gets his head back into friend time. At which point he bounces over to Galaga. A few new names are on the board but KAK has once again topped his score. _Multiple times._ Pidge cackles loudly and it only bruises Lance’s ego further. Hunk meanwhile shakes his head and reminds Lance he did stop playing for a while.

Lance immediately dumps two dollars into it, getting his initials back over the board and eventually topping KAK once more. He turns to Hunk and Pidge, vowing he won’t let KAK beat him like that again. The duo shares a skeptical look but agrees to try and hold him to it.

* * *

It goes back to that painful loop of KAK beating him, Lance struggling for a bit to top that score, only for KAK to beat him again. It’s really starting to annoy the hell out of him so he makes a plan. It always seems that KAK strikes on the days Lance isn’t there. What better way to catch him than to change up his schedule. 

He doesn’t see anyone approach the Galaga machine that day, or the others, and he ends up getting shooed out by Keith who has to close up the place and a promise to call when he gets home after his chores. KAK then somehow crushes his score and leaves him bewildered as to when it happens.

Lance brings up the potential of someone breaking into the arcade at night after Keith closes up but Pidge and Hunk easily debase it because nothing is stolen. Lance voices this concern to Keith who takes it a bit more seriously and goes into the back to check the cameras of the night before when KAK topped his score. When Keith comes back, confirming no one had been in the arcade between Keith's closing and Jenny's opening, Lance is only more confused.

“It has to be a ghost then.” Lance determines. 

“What does?” Keith asks, making sure someone covers for him while he takes his lunch break. 

“Ugh, it’s going to sound dumb.” 

“Alright, tell me.” He shrugs, leading Lance out of the arcade and into the main portion of the mall. 

“Well, okay. Someone keeps topping my score in Galaga. We’ve been going back and forth on it for weeks now.” Lance vents. “It’s frustrating and I just wanna catch the guy already.”

“You…” Keith pauses and gives Lance a strange look.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. Just take me to the food court already, I’m starving.” Keith shakes his head with a secretive smile. Lance takes him by his hand and leads him to the food court and ignores the occasional odd look of a passerby.

* * *

“Anyway, how was your day at work, samurai?” Lance asks, the pet name being birthed from having gently tugged on Keith’s bun and called it a ‘top-knot, like those old samurais’ much to Keith’s instant displeasure. He refused to let Lance call him ‘Toppy’, ‘Knotty’, ‘Top-knot’, or any other derivative. He allows ‘samurai’, but barely. He’s hanging upside-down on his mother’s bed with the second house phone resting on his stomach. She went out to run errands and most of the family is elsewhere giving him _some_ privacy.

“Long.” Keith groans, though it echos strangely.

“Are you hiding out in your kitchen pantry again?”

“Yeah, my brother is being a tool and wants to keep _eavesdropping_ ,” He says very pointedly and loudly even with the phone pulled away from his face. “On my conversations with you.”

“I feel you. At least you only have one phone and one brother.” Lance laughs. 

“God bet he’s got a cup against the door and everything.” Keith murmurs.

“He just wants to look out for you.”

“I know. Kinda wished he would pick a less annoying way to do it.” Keith sighs and Lance shakes his head. He can see his mom and dad pulling up into the driveway and he groans, knowing his time on the phone with Keith is over.

“Sorry I talked so much.” He apologizes.

“Don’t apologize. I like listening to you.” Keith says with a honeyed fondness that has certainly grown after nearly six months. Six months filled with the stress from adding his fall semester into his juggling act as well as meeting Keith’s older brother Shiro during Thanksgiving, having Keith meet his family for Noche Bunea, and then sneaking off to be alone on New Year’s Eve with that extra lucky midnight kiss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Whe--”

“Uh!” Lance cuts him off as his mom walks into the room, a stern look on her face. “Gotta go, talk soon!” He hangs up and gives his mom a sheepish grin.

“I thought you were sick mijo.” She crosses her arms.

“I was! But I took my medicine and felt better!” He tries to assure her. She shakes her head with a slight smile. 

“Go. Get to your room before your father sees.” She takes the phone from him and sets it where it belongs. “To be young and in love.” She chuckles as Lance scurries out the door.

* * *

Hunk and Pidge come along to the arcade with Lance. They’ve still yet to _properly_ be introduced to his boyfriend and they are both pretty cheesed by it. Sure they’ve seen him working here, but it’s not ‘a good place for a shovel talk’ according to Pidge and ‘not the best way for a casual talk’ from Hunk. Lance is expecting to invite Keith to come hang out with them after his shift but Keith isn’t behind the counter. 

It has him bummed if he’s honest since Keith had agreed to see Lance today on their phone call yesterday. Hunk pats his shoulder consoling him and Pidge grumbles about Keith needing to count his prayers. Lance shakes his head, slaps on a smile, and lets his friends drag him to different games for a bit. 

But eventually, he drags the wonder duo over to Galaga where, much to his surprise, Keith is at. He breaks into a wild and manic grin as he rushes over and watches Keith go, waiting for the brief pause as the next stage loads before greeting him.

“Hey!”

“Hey, Lance.” He smiles, it’s crooked with a dimple on the right side and it always makes Lance’s heart go aflutter. Keith turns his attention back to the game and continues to try and kick serious alien bug-butt. He’s doing phenomenal and Lance bounces on the balls of his feet as he watches Keith go.

In the end, though, he dies when one of the bugs fly into his ship before he can escape from it. Keith clicks his tongue and leans back as it tallies his score. He’s placed third, KAK having beaten Lance and pushed him into second again much to his chagrin. It awaits Keith’s initials.

“Wow, you’re as good as Lance is.” Hunk points out.

“Good as Lance, but not as good as KAK.” Pidge snickers.

“Uh, I’m just as good as KAK is,” Lance says. 

“Definitely are.”

“See Keith agrees with me.”

“As your boyfriend, I’m morally obligated to do so.” He smirks and Lance sputters as he looks over at him. 

“You’re awful.” Lance pouts and turns to the machine. “Oh, it timed out.” Now AAA sits in third place. 

“Eh, it’ll get knocked out eventually.” Keith shrugs, not concerned at all.

“You going again?” He asks.

“All yours.” Keith steps to the side of the machine and Lance gratefully takes over. On his one quarter, he manages to just _barely_ beat out KAK’s score.

“Take that.” Lance hisses, putting in his usual ‘LMC’. 

“It really is you.” Keith murmurs.

“Huh?”

“My turn? Bet I can beat you.” Keith challenges.

“Oooo. A bet.” Hunk stage whispers to Pidge.

“What’s the terms?” Lance crosses his arm.

“One quarter. If I beat you I win if I don’t you do.”

“Okay.”

“Loser buys dinner,” Keith says.

“For everyone,” Pidge adds on.

“Pidge, no, it’s their bet.” Hunk groans.

“For everyone,” Lance repeats the demand.

“For everyone.” Keith agrees, offering his hand. Lance takes it, shaking it and Keith smirks.

He redoes his silly hair bun, slips in his quarter, and goes full force. Lance starts off confident enough, but it slowly drains the closer Keith gets to his score. Soon enough Keith is shoving Lance back down into second place and taking first for himself.

“Told you,” Keith smirks over at him.

“Ugh, fine. You win, fair and square.” Lance pouts. “Hey, don’t forget your initials this time.”

“Oh, right.” Keith turns back to the machine and quickly puts in ‘KA’. There’s a brief moment of silence as Keith looks Lance dead in the eyes and places the final ‘K’. 

“You’re…” Hunk gasps.

“Oh my god.” Pidge groans.

“KAK! You’re KAK!” Lance screeches. Keith throws his head back and laughs.

“I’m Keith Austin Kogane. KAK.” He wipes the tears from his eyes. 

“How!?”

“I’d top your score after closing.” He shrugs.

“Oh my god. This is your just desserts.” Pidge looks at Lance.

“You got yourself a boyfriend who will kick your butt on your favorite game. How lucky.” Hunk teases.

“Jesus.” Lance groans and hides his face. All the times he’s been mad and angry at KAK feels ridiculous now.

“Hey. Don’t sweat it.” Keith nudges his shoulder.

“Easy for you to say.”

“Make it up to me.”

“How?”

“I believe you owe me dinner tonight.” He tucks his hands in his pockets.

“And us!” Hunk points out. 

And while Lance’s wallet weeps at the thought of Hunk’s richer pallet, he can’t stay mad. Not when he has Keith’s fingers laced with his and the mystery of KAK put to rest.

“I’ll top your score tomorrow.” He promises.

“I look forward to it.” Keith smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> Galaga is legit one of my favorite games, though I'm not that great at it lol. Side note, all of Keith's name tags have all been voice actors for his character, nifty little easter egg if you caught it 
> 
> Feel free to drop me a line here or over at demon-sushi at Tumblr, I do my best to respond to every comment <3


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